Having lived in this area most of my life and seeing how this mall has declined since the late 1980s, it's a real shame. I rememer around the holidays the huge parking lot would become completely packed with cars. The traffic was so crazy people would jump the curbs to get on/off Rt 724. Things were starting to turn around in 2019 until the Pennsylvania govoner's office ordered all "non-essential" businesses to close in reaction to the COVID-19 hysteria, and there was no way this mall could recover. Corrado's Pizza was AMAZING, and they stayed until the very last day. My wife and I stopped in to wish them luck and enjoy their pizza one last time.
So many memories here. This was the mall I went to and worked at as a teen. Some of my best memories from my teen years were here. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
Malls are a function of who buys them and starts the death spiral of the facility. Hold onto the property and max out your tax write-offs, many added by the GOP Congresses over the recent years, to get something out of nothing. The idea for those original write-offs was to encourage businesses to rebuild or upgrade facilities. However, they've turned into a business slash fund or in many cases and advance payment on no Union states like Florida or Texas where a lot of the write-offs pop up again as secondary investments as local guy-ins for these type firms. They are usually the little brother in a major development project in those places.
Jeremy: Enjoy your segments on the condition of the various malls out there. You do good research and report out the facts very well. A level paper where I went to college. One suggestion-do a bit more detail on what the malls final outcome will be. You do that here but not for the others I've viewed. Good stuff, keep it up.
I grew up with this mall and last visited in 2019. at the time it was still struggling, but seemed to be slowly bouncing back. Covid likely killed off whatever chances most dead malls had of ever recovering
When I was growing up in the 60's it was called the Norco Shopping Center it was all outside. Just went to Pottstown recently it's called the Shoppes at Coventry. I now live in Lancaster county pa.
Sad to see what has become of this mall that I used to visit a couple times a month in the late 90s. Back then I would either enter on the Bradlees end or I would park on the roof of the Boscov's.
I'm from Alaska, but my family is from that area of PA. I remember always wanting to go to this mall because they had the coolest action figures & we don't have stores like that where I live. I believe it was an EB Games or Toys or something like that? Nonethless, from the stories i've heard from my mom, this was a happening place. She used to work for Boscov's when she was younger. As that side of the family starts to pass away places like this are harder to see :( thank you for posting.
I worked maintenance at the mall in 2017, though KB toys was gone many years by then the back door in the sevice corridor still had their logo on it. Right before I left they had a team of guys in there busting up the flooring as part of their effort to clean the mall up
Great video! Another poor mall lost in time that met a depressing end. Kind of similar to Sunrise Mall in Massapequa, NY which still remains open with just 2 interior tenants left.
@@JeremysRetailExploration Honestly, I have been asking that same question for almost a year now. It was supposed to close at the end of 2022 but, it remained open and from what I last heard, it will be closing by the end of February. I cannot say this report is true but what is a certain fact right now is that the mall remains open.
Fitting that Corrodos Pizza is the last business standing. I remember that being around since at least 1991, and it looks the same way now as it did then.
you can still go inside actually. sounds surprising but there are two storefronts (the nail salon and hair salon) that are still open. not sure for how long though. I'm pretty sure the escape room has been dead for a while like the altrom outlet which the owner of that just straight up left and all that inventory sat in there for months
@@JeremysRetailExploration you can walk through the whole mall still. Forgot to mention on the other side where the ross used to be, the community care center is also still open. Also I dont think theyre going to drywall much other than maybe where big phils (the bar that's currently in the old tgi fridays) interior mall entrance is. As far as I know, there isnt much of an idea how the management company is going to move forward past the failed attempt to convert the interior stores into storage. For now, theyre going to move forward with construction of the Italian food market where the old footlocker and another old storefront (cant remember what it was)
@@JeremysRetailExploration also not sure what they can do with three tenants still in the mall as there would have to be two drywalls. One at the intersection of the old books a million and one at the sears entrance
@@JeremysRetailExploration this is speculation on my part but if they were to completely shut the interior down, they would have to do something like when the Morgantown Furniture Outlet (Now morgantown classic auto mall) shut down back around 2009 - 2012(?). That would be to boot anyone who didnt have an outdoor entrance and board up the entrances and leave the anchor (they had one, a holiday inn) alone
i lived in pottstown in 1988/89 ,rented an apt in a super old building/house? above an electrolysis salon overlooking what i think was main street -real hillbilly town but there was everything u needed even this mall here . went there all the time and it was busy with every space filled no vacancies or riff raff "gold chains while u wait " type of vendors . a legit mall . too bad but unfortunately pottstown folks as well as the rest of america are simply buying direct from the source "CHINA" these days
Having lived in this area most of my life and seeing how this mall has declined since the late 1980s, it's a real shame. I rememer around the holidays the huge parking lot would become completely packed with cars. The traffic was so crazy people would jump the curbs to get on/off Rt 724. Things were starting to turn around in 2019 until the Pennsylvania govoner's office ordered all "non-essential" businesses to close in reaction to the COVID-19 hysteria, and there was no way this mall could recover. Corrado's Pizza was AMAZING, and they stayed until the very last day. My wife and I stopped in to wish them luck and enjoy their pizza one last time.
So many memories here. This was the mall I went to and worked at as a teen. Some of my best memories from my teen years were here. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
I'm old. I remember the Norco Mall with JM Fields and Pantry Pride🤣
Believe it or not, late 80’s early 90’s as a teenager, this was the place to be. It was packed. A piece of the past that will sadly never come back.
I was born in 99 I still remember coming here around 6 during the the holiday time it was mobbed always loved checking out the GameStop
Specially on Friday nights.
The restaurant that moved into the former TGI Fridays site, is in fact still open. Great restaurant. It’s called Big Phil’s
really an end of a era, sad to see the mall go. holds a lot of memories.
I grew up going to this mall sad to see it go.😢
Great job with this video! This mall died a long slow death. It's a shame, but I will always remember the trips I made to it
Malls are a function of who buys them and starts the death spiral of the facility. Hold onto the property and max out your tax write-offs, many added by the GOP Congresses over the recent years, to get something out of nothing. The idea for those original write-offs was to encourage businesses to rebuild or upgrade facilities. However, they've turned into a business slash fund or in many cases and advance payment on no Union states like Florida or Texas where a lot of the write-offs pop up again as secondary investments as local guy-ins for these type firms. They are usually the little brother in a major development project in those places.
Jeremy: Enjoy your segments on the condition of the various malls out there. You do good research and report out the facts very well. A level paper where I went to college. One suggestion-do a bit more detail on what the malls final outcome will be. You do that here but not for the others I've viewed. Good stuff, keep it up.
I grew up with this mall and last visited in 2019. at the time it was still struggling, but seemed to be slowly bouncing back. Covid likely killed off whatever chances most dead malls had of ever recovering
When I was growing up in the 60's it was called the Norco Shopping Center it was all outside. Just went to Pottstown recently it's called the Shoppes at Coventry. I now live in Lancaster county pa.
I used to work at Fox Photo here back in the late 90’s
Sad to see what has become of this mall that I used to visit a couple times a month in the late 90s. Back then I would either enter on the Bradlees end or I would park on the roof of the Boscov's.
I'm from Alaska, but my family is from that area of PA. I remember always wanting to go to this mall because they had the coolest action figures & we don't have stores like that where I live. I believe it was an EB Games or Toys or something like that? Nonethless, from the stories i've heard from my mom, this was a happening place. She used to work for Boscov's when she was younger. As that side of the family starts to pass away places like this are harder to see :( thank you for posting.
Love the video. Great job Jeremy
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video man! Sad to see another mall bite the dust
Thank you!
Hello fellow Pottstown people
i used to go here as a kid & go to KB toys , i didnt know it fully closed .
I worked maintenance at the mall in 2017, though KB toys was gone many years by then the back door in the sevice corridor still had their logo on it. Right before I left they had a team of guys in there busting up the flooring as part of their effort to clean the mall up
Great video! Another poor mall lost in time that met a depressing end. Kind of similar to Sunrise Mall in Massapequa, NY which still remains open with just 2 interior tenants left.
Thank you! Do you happen to know if or when Sunrise Mall is closing. Thought about making a trip there.
@@JeremysRetailExploration Honestly, I have been asking that same question for almost a year now. It was supposed to close at the end of 2022 but, it remained open and from what I last heard, it will be closing by the end of February. I cannot say this report is true but what is a certain fact right now is that the mall remains open.
Great vid!
Fitting that Corrodos Pizza is the last business standing. I remember that being around since at least 1991, and it looks the same way now as it did then.
So the old foot locker is going to be the Italian market
All malls are fading away. Ugh. Great explore 😊
Not all. Some malls are thriving. They just built too damn many malls
Looks to still be in good condition
you can still go inside actually. sounds surprising but there are two storefronts (the nail salon and hair salon) that are still open. not sure for how long though. I'm pretty sure the escape room has been dead for a while like the altrom outlet which the owner of that just straight up left and all that inventory sat in there for months
Did they drywall the rest of the mall off from that portion? Or is the whole mall still open, because I thought they were going to keep one portion.
@@JeremysRetailExploration you can walk through the whole mall still. Forgot to mention on the other side where the ross used to be, the community care center is also still open. Also I dont think theyre going to drywall much other than maybe where big phils (the bar that's currently in the old tgi fridays) interior mall entrance is. As far as I know, there isnt much of an idea how the management company is going to move forward past the failed attempt to convert the interior stores into storage. For now, theyre going to move forward with construction of the Italian food market where the old footlocker and another old storefront (cant remember what it was)
@@JeremysRetailExploration also not sure what they can do with three tenants still in the mall as there would have to be two drywalls. One at the intersection of the old books a million and one at the sears entrance
@@JeremysRetailExploration this is speculation on my part but if they were to completely shut the interior down, they would have to do something like when the Morgantown Furniture Outlet (Now morgantown classic auto mall) shut down back around 2009 - 2012(?). That would be to boot anyone who didnt have an outdoor entrance and board up the entrances and leave the anchor (they had one, a holiday inn) alone
Penn built way too many malls back in the day.
drove by recently, the sign says some other name now
They need to make another night of the living dead.
Did this mall used to have a fountain or no?
I'm not sure.
No. To the best of my knowledge, there was never a fountain in the Coventry Mall
@@craigr2104 is this mall now closed or did they decide to keep it open a little longer again?
It used to have multiple small fountains, but never had one big one.
i lived in pottstown in 1988/89 ,rented an apt in a super old building/house? above an electrolysis salon overlooking what i think was main street -real hillbilly town but there was everything u needed even this mall here . went there all the time and it was busy with every space filled no vacancies or riff raff "gold chains while u wait " type of vendors . a legit mall . too bad but unfortunately pottstown folks as well as the rest of america are simply buying direct from the source "CHINA" these days
It's an apocalyptic movie in real life.
TGIF is a ripoff.